Boosting Broadband Wireless Internet Access in Rural India

­In support of the Indian Government's Bharat Nirman rural development agenda, BSNL, HCL and Intel have announced a series of wide-reaching initiatives to spur economic and educational opportunities in India by expanding access to wireless broadband Internet and affordable computers.

Intel and BSNL will jointly propagate wireless broadband Internet in what is intended to ultimately become a nationwide mobile WiMAX network. BSNL also will work with Intel and HCL to make available in India's rural regions WiMAX-capable nettop computers designed by the two companies and made in India by HCL using the Intel Atom processor.

A memorandum of understanding to start a WiMAX acceleration program was detailed today during a regional visit by Intel President and CEO Paul Otellini.

Lauding the initiatives, Shri Sachin Pilot, Honorable Minister of State for Communication and IT said, "The Internet is the force that will propel India into the next decade. We commend BSNL, HCL and Intel for coming together to accelerate wireless broadband Internet availability in India. This initiative has the potential to connect millions more Indians to 21st century digital opportunity, driving national growth in the process."

Affordable low-cost devices to drive Internet access

The objective of today's agreement is to stimulate economic growth in India by encouraging the spread of mobile WiMAX, a long-range wireless technology, and affordable computing devices. BSNL, India's largest telecom service provider, is committed to deploy over time a mobile WiMAX network based on IEEE 802.16e specifications in the 2.5 GHz frequency band in rural and urban areas. Initial deployments will be in Kerala and Punjab. In tandem, Intel is committing to help manufacturers provide WiMAX-capable nettops, netbooks, notebooks and smartphones for the BSNL network.

Over the next several months BSNL and Intel will begin making available Intel- and HCL-designed WiMAX-capable nettops through BSNL's and HCL's retail outlets, and ultimately through Intel's network of channel partners across India. Intel today showcased a variety of HCL's WiMAX-capable computing devices.

Posted to the site on 28th October 2009